you have nothing to lose but your preconceptions.
Pocket Stories is boutique brand consultancy at the intersection of strategy, design and communication
Multidisciplinary team of strategists, designers and writers.
30+ years of partnerships with leading brands and leaders.
Services span brand vision, strategic positioning, brand systems and customer experiences.
Approach combines structured thinking with disciplined creativity — from insight to implementation.
Committed to building brands through clear ideas and thoughtful execution.
Focus on strengthening relevance, differentiation and long-term brand value
SPLee. Creative Director
Brand experience
SP brings to the table a wealth of experience in communicating brand messages for major clients.
He has played multiples roles, from writer to CEO, but titles aside, his passion is solving marketing issues.
Clients
TM, Malaysia Airlines, Shell, Panasonic, New Zealand Milk, Standard Chartered, HSBC, Sime Darby, SP Setia, Gamuda, Ramboll, Toyota, Lexus, Mercedes, Canon, Olympus, Samsng, Dutch Lady, SC Johnson, Reckitt Colman, Pizza Hut,Etika.
Awards
Cannes, Effies, Clios, AdFest, Spikes, London International, New York Festivals,
New York Art Directors Club, Graphis, Direct Marketing Association Awards,
Singapore Creative Circle, Toyota International Awards.
Served as president and in the jury panels in over 20 award shows.
Five-time chairman of the Malaysian Kancil Awards
Education
Journalism, Film & Psychology, Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada
Sultan Abdul Samad, PJ.
Dharma Somasundram - Brand Consultant
Dharma Somasundram is a Consultant Partner with 40 years of experience in advertising and branding.
Educated in Malaysia and the United States, she has held senior creative roles at J. Walter Thompson, Young & Rubicam, and Bozell Worldwide before founding Ova in 2003.
In the advertising industry she has worked with leading global and Malaysianbrands including Colgate-Palmolive, Unilever, Maybank, Citibank and Malaysia Airlines, earning recognition at Cannes Lions, D&AD, and the Kancil Awards.
In branding, her specialty is strategy, architecture and training, with oversight on creative execution - essentially end-to-end branding.
She is passionate about mentoring and growing people.
Sherina Mohd Noordin - Strategy & Servicing Lead
Sherina is a Strategy & Servicing Lead with more than a decade of experience in advertising, marketing and branding.
Educated in Malaysia and Australia, Sherina honed her skills in People n’Rich-Hakuhodo, The Wizard’s Room, Naga DDB Tribal and Slanja Communications.
She joined Ova in 2021 to lead strategy and servicing initiatives. Her portfolio includes extensive work with Astro (MEASAT) Broadcast Network Systems, where she led agency operations across multiple portfolios.
Her experience covers the full spectrum of marketing communications including advertising, branding, digital engagement, events and corporate communications.
Sherina supports brand strategy development and ensures the effective delivery of branding programmes— from research, brand positioning and architecture to implementation.
Sandra Sin - Brand & Graphic Designer
Sandra has over 20 years of experience in brand design and creative development. She has worked across a wide range of materials and platforms, helping both emerging and established brands build strong, consistent identities.
Brand experience include LBS, Petronas, Malaysia Airlines, Sime Darby, Marshall Cavendish, Time dotCom, Maxis, Touch ’n Go, Senibong Cove and Shell.
Her work covers everything from big-picture concept development to hands-on execution, always aiming to create campaigns that are impactful, positive, and meaningful.
Throughout her career, Sandra has translated complex creative briefs into clear, actionable ideas.
She is experienced in developing mood boards, storyboards, and visual systems, and enjoys collaborating closely with copywriters, marketers, and technical teams to ensure ideas are brought to life effectively.
She has also led and directed photographers, illustrators, and motion designers to deliver cohesive, high-quality campaigns across digital and physical platforms.
Agency experience : OVA, McCann, Saatchi, Octagon, Chimera, Knights, Saito Academy.
Diploma in Graphic Design from Saito Academy and was awarded the Dean’s Award in Mathematics Engineering.
Sandra is literate in English, Mandarin, Cantonese, and Bahasa Malaysia, both spoken and written.
Purpose & Brand Strategy
Define your aspirational north star — why you exist, what sets you apart, and how your brand comes to life in a compelling, actionable way.
Visual Identity
If your brand doesn’t stand out, doesn’t stick, we’ve failed. The singular task of a strong visual identity is to ensure your brand cuts through and stays in the minds of your audience.
Brand Architecture
Structure your brand portfolio for clarity—defining relationships, roles, and hierarchy to create a cohesive and scalable system.
Brand Audits
Evaluate your current brand to uncover gaps, inconsistencies, and opportunities for sharper differentiation and impact.
What We Bring to the Table
We’re a small and mighty team of experienced strategists, designers, writers, and creatives. With decades of experience, we know how to turn logic into magic.
Great work comes from blending strategy with creativity — where the left brain meets the right.
We don’t do jargon. We just do the work that helps your brand stand out, grow, and connect with the people who matter.
Driven by curiosity and built on purpose, this is where bold thinking meets thoughtful execution. Let’s create something meaningful together.
You have nothing to lose but your preconceptions.
The line is a twist on the quote by Karl Marx “You have nothing to lose but your chains.”
It is human nature to hold on to our beliefs because we find comfort in them.
But an outdated belief can also be our chain.
In marketing and branding - and in life in general - everything is constantly shifting.
The only constant is change.
Are you held back by your existing beliefs, assumptions, or biases?
It takes courage to challenge ourselves, to put our assumptions to the test.
If we let go of them, we may open ourselves to new ideas and possibilities.
Brands are complex to manage.
Who owns your brand?
You?
Your customers?
The competition?
Shifts in technology?
Shifts in trends and culture?
There are many examples of brands that have been repositioned or made obsolete by time and technology.
Phones > Smartphones
Cinema > Streaming
ICE cars > EV
Retail > e-commerce
Typewriters > PCs
Even foods face perception challenges—what was once considered unhealthy, like eggs, is now seen as nutritious.
We can all think of everyday brands that disappeared over the last decade. We can also think of brands that dominated the market in just a few short years.
“You have nothing to lose but your preconceptions” is a challenge to test assumptions about your brand, your audience, and your market.
Are your customers really who you think they are? Audiences evolve, tastes and habits can change very quickly.
Smart brands are always willing to discover new segments and new channels.
Fresh data keeps them clued in on shifts.
A “youth brand” might find strong adoption among older users if it stops excluding them.
Brand values need not be abandoned - but how you express them can change.
Test instead of assuming, and treat new channels as experiments.
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is famous for emphasizing on experimentation and innovation. He believes companies should allocate 10% of their budget trying out new ideas.
Even if most fail, the ones that succeed can open doors to new income streams.
That is how Amazon went from an online bookstore to a global tech and retail giant — spanning e‑commerce, cloud computing (AWS), digital devices (Kindle) and entertainment (Prime Video).
The biggest risk is taking no risks at all, as the adage goes.
“All the world is nothing but opinions” so said the ancient Greek philosophers.
True, but as marketers, we must put opinions to test. Are your brand decisions based on internal opinions rather than reality?
Can “we think” be replaced with “we tested.”
Real risk isn’t trying something new — it’s staying trapped in outdated thinking.
Losing a preconception costs very little.
Missing a shift in consumer behavior can be very costly.